Downtown Poplar Bluff, Inc. recognized Debbie Sliger, owner of Myrtle’s Place, as the 2023 Game Changer Award recipient.
For 38 years, Sliger has been a dedicated familiar face, serving area residents with her down-home country cooking.
Sliger said she was touched and felt very blessed to receive the Game Changer Award for 2023.
Morgan McIntosh, executive director of Downtown Poplar Bluff, Inc., said in the past the organization has nominated someone “and then we voted within the board. But this year, I put it out to the public and had an online nomination option. We put it out through the chamber — in an email from the chamber and then on social media and opened it up to the public.”
The award, McIntosh explained, is presented to a person who has shown great initiative in the revitalization of Downtown Poplar Bluff.
“The first recipients of the award were Lisa and Larry Hafford. Last year, it was Shawn Adams and Evan Holley, from Forum Fifty Fifty,” explained McIntosh.
This year, Sliger received the honor.
“Debbie has put in years of not only money but time into Myrtle’s to make it successful, and that’s why it is successful, because of the dedication she has to it,” said McIntosh.
Sliger said she felt blessed to receive the award and praised her customers, family, friends and staff for her success.
“The customers, the friends, the employees — this isn’t just one person,” said Sliger. “I am very blessed.”
Daughter and co-owner Leanna Alexander explained Sliger has high expectations of her staff, but they always find a way to rise to the occasion because “her grit and determination drives us,” said Alexander.
Myrtle’s recently welcomed major improvements to both the interior and exterior of the building, including adding a handicap accessible restroom, outdoor seating and new roofing.